Tuesday 13 August 1940

Tuesday 13 August 1940

Opening of ‘Eagle Day’ misfires. Heavy raid on Eastchurch followed by afternoon raids on Portland, Southampton and airfields in Kent and Hampshire. 1,485 German sorties.

Night: Light attacks on Midlands, Wales and the West Country.

Weather: Mainly fair. Early morning mist and slight drizzle in places and some cloud in the Channel.

Main Activity:

Between 0450 and 0510 hours, seventy-four Do 17 bombers of KG 2 took off to attack Sheerness Dockyard and the Coastal Command airfield at Eastchurch. A last-minute cancellation order (due to low cloud) failed to reach KG 2, and the bombers continued on without the escorting Bf 110s from ZG 26. The cloudy weather enabled the Do 17s to attack both targets unimpeded. Over two hundred high explosive and incendiary bombs were dropped on Eastchurch, destroying hangers, the ammunition dump, and killing sixteen airmen. Six aircraft were also destroyed on the ground. Spitfires of No. 74 Squadron along with Hurricanes of Nos. 111 and 151 Squadrons intercepted the Dorniers, shooting down five and damaging six others.

Between 0500 and 0535 hours, thirty-eight Ju 88 bombers of I and II/KG 54, escorted by Bf 110s of V/LG 1 and Bf 109s of JG 2, set off to bomb the Royal Aircraft Establishment airfield at Farnborough and the army cooperation airfield at Odiham. Hurricanes from Nos. 43, 87, and 601 Squadrons together with Spitfires of No. 64 Squadron were scrambled to intercept. In the resulting action, four Ju 88s and one Bf 109 were shot down. Three Hurricanes were also lost.

At 1110 hours, twenty-three Bf 110s of V/LG 1 took off on a Freie Jagd over Portland. Hurricanes from No. 601 Squadrons intercepted the German fighters, shooting down six aircraft and damaging three others. Only one Hurricane was shot down and another damaged.

At 1400 hours, ‘Adlertag’ was finally given the official go-ahead.

At 1530 hours, fifty-eight Ju 88s from I, II, and III/LG 1, escorted by Bf 109s from JG 53 and Bf 110s from ZG 2, took off to bomb the airfields at Boscombe Down, Worthy Down, and Andover, while fifty-two Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers from StG 1 and StG 2, escorted by Bf 109s of JG 53 and Bf 110s of III/ZG 76, set off to attack Warmwell and Yeovil. Hurricanes from Nos. 213, 238, 257, and 601 Squadrons along with Spitfires from Nos. 152 and 609 Squadrons were scrambled and engaged the enemy aircraft over the English coast. Both StG 1 and StG 2 failed to find their targets due to cloud and attacked Portland instead. One Staffel of II/StG 2 was intercepted by Spitfires of No. 609 Squadron and lost six out of nine aircraft. I/LG 1 also abandoned its attempt to reach Boscombe Down and bombed Southampton, causing damage to the port and nearby residences. One aircraft from III/LG 1 dropped bombs near the important Sector Station of Middle Wallop by mistake while the rest hit the bomber airfield at Andover, damaging buildings and killing two. Six Ju 88s were shot down and many others damaged.

At 1716 hours, Ju 87 Stuka dive-bombers from IV/LG 1, escorted by Bf 109s of JG 26, attacked the Coastal Command airfield at Detling, destroying the operations block and killing sixty-seven personnel including the Station Commander. Twenty-two aircraft on the ground were written off. Hurricanes from No. 56 Squadron were scrambled to intercept, shooting down one Bf 109 for the loss of four aircraft.

The wreckage of Dornier Do 17Z ‘U5 + DS’ of 8 Staffel./Kampfgeschwader 2 at Seasalter, near Whitstable in Kent. The aircraft was attacked and shot down by Hurricanes of Nos. 111 and 151 Squadrons on 13 August 1940. The flight engineer baled out wounded and was captured. The rest of the crew were killed.

Another view of the wreckage of Dornier Do 17Z ‘U5 + DS’ of 8 Staffel./Kampfgeschwader 2 at Seasalter, near Whitstable in Kent.

Dornier Do 17Z ‘U5 + KA’ of Stab.Staffel./Kampfgeschwader 2 was shot down over Barham in Kent on 13 August 1940 and ended up crashing onto the Canterbury-Folkestone railway line at Pherbec Bridge.

The pilots from No. 609 Squadron are still wearing their so-called ‘Mae West’ life vests as they line up for a group photo after the successful combat against II/StG 2 and II/JG 53 on the afternoon of 13 August 1940.

P/O Andy Mamedoff of No. 609 Squadron showing the damage to his Spitfire after an encounter with a Bf 110 on 13 August 1940.